David Smoak

Happy Texas Western day! 60 years ago today, the Miners made history by starting five African-Americans in their 72-65 win over Kentucky in the national championship game. The night before the game, a group of Maryland students were making a ruckus outside of the Miners hotel. So, Don Haskins went out and invited those students to have a beer with him, so his team could sleep. The night of Haskins becoming a national championship he “sat up with them (the students) drinking beers and making small talk until the early hours.” @600espnelpaso

NEW: Between the unrestricted transfer portal and NIL/rev-share deals, it's never been more difficult for underdogs to succeed in March. And yet, several underdogs are alive and well. VCU, Texas, and High Point (Cinderella candidate?) all won today. frontofficesports.com/march-madness-…

Transactional vs. Transformational Coaching… Dan Hurley shared a story about asking Geno Auriemma for advice after a rough start last season. Geno didn’t mince words: “Listen, if the only gratification and the only part of coaching that excites you is winning the national championship, then you’ve lost your way, buddy! Where’s the joy in the things that you’ve always been about as a coach before you went on the championship run, like relationships with your players, like helping people get better, like making your team the best it can be. Be a coach, man. This is when you really need to be a leader. This team isn’t as good as last year’s, so what the hell are you going to do about it? Are you going home? Are you going to let this thing unravel?” That’s the tension every coach feels: Transactional vs. Transformational. Transactional coaching is outcome-obsessed. It’s about the wins, the losses, the trophies. The problem? When results don’t come, your purpose crumbles with them. Transformational coaching is different. It’s about people. It’s about growth. It’s about building something that lasts, whether the scoreboard agrees with you or not. And this is why mentorship matters so much in coaching. Left on our own, it’s easy to drift into a transactional mode without even realizing it. A trusted mentor can pull us back to center and remind us why we started coaching in the first place. To build relationships. To develop players as people. To make teams the best they can be. Wins matter. But they’re not the why. The why is impact. The why is growth. The why is leaving your players better than you found them. The process is the prize. Stay grounded. Stay on the path. Always remember your why.

High Point University in NC, which beat Wisconsin in basketball today, conducts campus tours on golf carts, offers wealthy students private housing for $40,000 per year and built an "airplane-cabin interior" so that students could rehearse sitting next to an executive on a plane.

As if you needed any more proof that Texas A&M has one heck of a coach in Bucky McMillan… Buzz Williams’ furthest NCAA Tournament run in 6 years at Texas A&M was the Round of 32. It took him 5 years to get there. Bucky McMillan just matched that in his first year at Texas A&M.

UNC devastated after blowing a 19 point lead to VCU. Chancellor Lee Roberts, AD Bubba Cunningham, and AD-in-waiting Steve Newkirk all in the tunnel waiting as the team leaves the floor.

A couple of notes as A&M and UT both win tonight, Texas had some high quality wins, but sometimes Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde...now their regular season record means nothing as they're on to the Round of 32; Aggies also finished season poorly and almost on fumes, they got in, also won.

A piece of Husker History. 🎙️ GBR x @KentPavelka

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For the life of me I’ll never understand throwing a 70 mph chest pass at the backboard. Just shoot your normal shot with a little more air on it! If it happens to go in, whatever. At least it’s a 1 point game. Insane collapse from the Tarheels.

VCU's rally from 19 points down (56-37 with 13:50 remaining) is the sixth biggest comeback in tournament history, and is the second biggest second-half deficit ever, behind Nevada's 22-point rally against Cincinnati in 2018. The record is 25 (BYU vs. Iona in the 2012 First Four).

Congrats Paxton and your 'Horns playing well and dictating the tempo against BYU.

Players were allowed to customize their caddie bibs this week @ValsparChamp. Alejandro Tosti saw it as an opportunity. "I offer a lot of good stuff. I love cooking, I can fly airplanes, play golf and have fun" ❤️

Kent Pavelka has been broadcasting Nebraska basketball since 1975. Today he just saw Huskers win their first ever NCAA Tournament victory 🥹🥹

Virginia Commonwealth University Rams! @MarchMadnessMBB

From the desk of admin:

Court side in OKC to cover Texas A&M vs. St. Mary's in March Madness. I'm blessed far more than I deserve. Love my job.

Barry Bonds is in the building. The Home Run King, 7x NL MVP, Single Season Home Run Leader and Giants legend joins the crew for MLB Opening Night: Yankees vs. Giants. LIVE on Netflix March 25 with special coverage beginning at 7PM ET | 4PM PT.

And ALWAYS a great segment!

We caught up with Baylor Football Head Coach @CoachDaveAranda in the studio—don’t miss the full interview on our YouTube! 🐻🎙️ 🔗 youtu.be/JA0g1qXiMgE